Hockey team abandons new owner after he is revealed to be sex offender

The new owner of a Northern Ireland hockey team had his business plans thwarted after the team learned he is a registered sex offender.

A man named Christopher Knight purchased the Belfast Giants for £140,000 in November. The company that owns the arena where the Giants play — Odyssey Trust — was concerned after “major issues” came to its attention two months after he bought the team. That’s probably when they learned Knight is a registered sex offender in Florida, and that he lied about his age.

The Odyssey Trust reportedly tried to purchase the team from Knight, but after they were unsuccessful in their bid, they activated a clause in their contract to block Knight’s company from playing in the arena. That was the first of many successive moves that led to Knight’s team falling apart.

In addition to losing the Odyssey Arena, the players wrote Knight to tell them they were ending their contract with him. Instead, they played two games last weekend under no contract. They and other team staff members signed with Odyssey Trust, which formed a new Belfast Giants company on Monday. The general manager also resigned from Knight’s company to sign with the new one.

To recap: Knight owns a team, but he has no players, no staff, and no arena to play in. The Giants are currently third in the Elite Ice Hockey League.